TV Journalist Sara Rahanama’s body found floating in lake, family alleges murder

• Deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed’s son Sajeeb Wajed, who lives in the United States, called the incident “another brutal attack” on freedom of expression in the country in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter)
• There has been a stir in Bangladesh after the body of a female journalist was found after a post on Facebook a day earlier.
• The deceased was the daughter of Noakhali Press Club President Bakhtiar Shikder.
• Sajeeb Wajed said, “Gazi TV is a secular news channel owned by Golam Dastagir Gazi, who was recently arrested

Dhaka : There has been a stir in neighboring country Bangladesh after the body of a female journalist was found floating in the lake. According to media reports, the body of a female journalist was found in Hatirjheel Lake on the morning of August 28 in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. She was identified as 32-year-old Sara Rahanama, Who was the newsroom editor at the Bengali-language Gazi Television (GTV) and lived in Kalyanpur. She had been an employee of the media company for three years. Inspector Bachchu Mia, who oversees the police post at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), confirmed the report and said, “The incident has been reported to Hatirjheel Police Station.” According to Mohammad Sagar, one of the passersby who took the body to the hospital, the body was seen floating in the lake. “I saw the woman floating in Hatirjheel Lake. Later, she was brought to DMCH, where doctors declared her dead.” According to her family members, she was murdered. “It was good to have a friend like you. May God bless you always. Hope, you will fulfill all your dreams soon. I know we had made a lot of plans together. Sorry, we are not able to fulfill our plans. May God give you every blessing of life,” she wrote on her Facebook status on the night of August 27 and tagged a man named Faheem Faisal. She said in an earlier post, “It is better to die than live a life like death.” According to Inspector Bachchu Mia, the body has been kept in the mortuary of DMCH. According to the police, investigations will be conducted to find out the reasons behind her death. Rahnuma’s husband Syed Shubhra claimed that they got married seven years ago after a romantic relationship but kept their families in the dark. There was no quarrel between them. However, she had been longing to go her own way for some time. She intended to complete her divorce at the registrar’s office but the current situation in the country prevented her from doing so. They were informed around 3 am that she had jumped into the waters of Hatirjheel lake. The deceased was the daughter of Noakhali Press Club president Bakhtiar Shikder. According to reports, Rahnuma left her office at Segunbagicha at 9:00 pm on August 27 and was found dead a few hours later. Locals saw her body floating under the first bridge of Hatirjheel at around 12:30 am. She was declared dead at Dhaka Medical College Hospital at around 2:00 pm after a group of people picked up her body and brought it there.

Meanwhile, Sajeeb Wazed, son of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, who lives in the United States, called the incident “another brutal attack” on freedom of expression in the country in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter). “Gazi TV is a secular news channel owned by Golam Dastagir Gazi who was arrested recently,” Sajeeb Wazed said. Bangladesh is facing a severe political and economic crisis following student protests, as brutal violence especially against the minority Hindu community has made international headlines.